Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane [VHS]

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember the early days of Don Rickles, the master of insult humor. His career was saved when his Las Vegas crowd rallied to let the public know that he was really a nice guy. Unfortunately, the Dice-Man didn't have that support, and his 80's update of Rickles-type humor was blown out of proportion by a misguided, politically-correct public that wouldn't know a funny joke if it was strapped to their privates. Dice IS funny, and he IS a nice guy. His humor is probably a "GUY" thing, but he talks no differently than anyone I've known who lived in a college dorm. Okay. Enough about the misunderstood Dice. "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane", an early effort from Renny Harlin, is always funny and always entertaining. The screenplay is clever, a direct parody of dumb detective films, with many original ideas, tailor-made to the many talents of Andrew Dice Clay. Dice is quite charming, always self-effacing and having a great time. The assembled cast is great, with Gilbert Gottfried in a natural role, a fine nasty performance from Wayne Newton, as well as Robert Englund (in a non-Freddy role, but still nasty). Lauren Holly is a stabilizing factor, and Priscilla Presley (remember the "Naked Gun" films?) is as straight as ever. Really enjoyable is Maddie Corman (the little sister from "Some Kind of Wonderful") as Zuzu Petals (I've not been able to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" without thinking of Maddie...) Ed O'Neill's rendition of "Booty Time" may stick with you.Andrew Dice Clay's humor may not appeal to all, but this is a fun film and the Dice-Man is quite endearing. Don't judge...ENJOY!

Although "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane" is the best film released in the 90's, it has not received the critical acclaim it so justly deserves. The well-written screenplay, tailor-made for Andrew Dice Clay, is a love story about a private investigator and his secretary. In a superb performance, Clay has restrained his usual humor to make a realistic film about the danger of being a Rock and Roll detective. He had reasons for leaving the police force, which results in harsh treatment from Lt. Amos, convincingly played by Ed O'Neill. Wayne Newton, as the evil Julian Grendel almost steals the show from the rest of the cast.

I had the opportunity to buy the Adventures Of Ford Fairlane DVD about a month in advance, so I'll comment about the transfer and special features for buyers wanting details concerning the DVD. It is surely a definite must buy for fans of the movie.

It is a Double-Sided DVD with a crystal clear Anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen version on one side and a Full-Screen "formatted to fit your TV" version on the other side of the disc. It would have been nicer to just have a Dual-Layer DVD instead of Double-Sided DVD (easier to scratch!), but that's only a small complaint. It's great to finally be able to see the movie in it's original Widescreen format, a lot of small details are not visible in the Pan & Scan VHS version that's been available for years. I haven't viewed the Full-Screen version on the disc, but the Widescreen transfer on the disc looks as good as any newer movie would on the DVD format.

The audio options are English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, which is also very sharp and clear. You can also choose French or Spanish language tracks if you choose, both of those are in "mono" sound. Subtitles/Captions are available in English, French and Spanish as well.

The DVD special features... There is a full-length audio commentary by director Renny Harlin that is quite informative. You can choose to listen to his commentary track on either the Widescreen or Full-Screen side of the disc. Also included is the original "Making Of" featurette from 1990 that runs about 6 minutes in length. Plus, the original music video for Billy Idol's "Cradle Of Love". And last but not least, the original theatrical trailer in 2.35:1 Widescreen format!

I'm a firm believer in the fact that there are two kinds of B movies in the world: the ones which take themselves too seriously and the ones which do not. With the latter, both the audience and the moviemakers are in general agreement that the point is to provide entertainment as opposed to creating art or an intense emotional experience. This allows viewers to relax and gleefully ride along. Here, in Ford Fairlaine, we have a honest, unpretentious B movie that comes with a pompadour of oomph.

As far as plot goes, frankly, this one's not too memorable, but Andrew Dice Clay is/was an underrated comedian. He's really got some fine material in this film. More importantly, the Diceman is an important cultural remnant from the days when people jovially made jokes about one another which were broadly termed "ethnic humor" by cultural commentators. Now such jokes are condemned as hate speech and branded with an ism. The offending party, unless they are members of a blessed minority group, are then charged with dehumanization or some other bit of hogwash dreamt up by the out-of-touch and the overpaid. Here Clay presents a dismissive view of women that one cannot find practically anywhere else on earth. He clearly views them as his inferiors, and even though many of his remarks and insults are too severe, one cannot help but look back at those glowing days in which citizens could say them without being labeled haters.

When Dice brokedown on "The Arsenio Hall Show" I happened to be watching, and I felt very sorry for him. It may have been the first time I understood how invidious political correctness was. The gist was that sensitive Arsenio informed Clay that his assistant wouldn't come to work that day because she was so offended by Andrew's presence. I wish that I could have spoken for Dice because I would have informed him that those of us who live everyday lives are offended every time we deal with traffic. Our universities and colleges have to stop pretending that they are preparing students for life when really, they are preparing for students for a sixty year ego massage which will never be given. . If one is horrified by the jokes of a guy like Dice then they're going to be in big trouble when they have to deal with bureaucrats or mentally ill individuals spending their days aboard public transportation. Dice is a litmus test, if you can't handle him, it's back to the crib for you. Although, I should mention that the film is actually funny. Many of Clay's asides are hilarious. His character, in case the hate merchants didn't notice, is tongue in cheek. One of my favorite moments is when he plummets from a building and, as everyone is screaming, he says, "My hair! My hair!" This is a fine farce and if part of you longs for the days of Archie Bunker, you'll dig this one.

This movie is still great after all these years. It is so loaded with embedded one-liners you have to watch it several times just to catch them all.

I'll never understand why this movie wasn't wildly popular. When I saw it, the audience was absolutely rocked with laughter. In fact, I had to see the video to catch things I missed because I could barely hear. Admittedly, I was one of the only women laughing, but most women need to lighten up... it's just a movie!

My only complaint about the video is that the coloration and sound didn't translate very well. This movie was utterly gorgeous on the big screen. It had fabulous club scenes. Whoever edited it did a superb job. I'm glad there were so many other positive reviews. I too would love to see a sequel. Andrew Dice Clay has gone on to make fairly mediocre movies since then, and I have hardly heard of him. Someone said Lauren Holly was unnoticed. I don't agree with that, I thought she was fantastic, and added a lot to the movie. Everyone in it was great.

Man, the majority of people hate this movie because it stars Andrew Dice Clay, and they haven't even watched it. That's not very fair if you ask me. I also must say that this movie is ahead it's time if you ask me. I mean look at Ameerican Pie, and There's Something About Mary, they have more offensive things than the language in this movie. Anyway let's talk plot shall we?

So the Diceman is Ford Fairlane, rock and roll detective. Priscilla Presley hires him to find this girl (who would later be the peek-a-boo girl at the end of Swingers) but she doesn't give Ford the full story. Then Gilbert Gottfried (as a shockjock) hires Ford to find the same girl, but with a different story. Anyway, hilarity and wackiness ensues. There is a funeral for Vince Neil (too bad it's not real) Robert Patrick Kelly as a stalker, Robert Enguland as a psychotic killer (without claws, that's a different movie), The Columbia Records tower, zippy one-liners, Wayne Newton and lots more craziness.

I must also point out that this movie really got me into the band Yello (they did Oh Yeah from Ferris Bueller's Day Off) because they did some of the soundtrack. My main problem though is the fact that I live in a very PC city (Seattle, so it's hard to find on VHS. I've seen it on TBS a few times but it's edited and that defeats the purpose, and you lose some great lines. I really would not mind it being on DVD either. I mean look at all the other Renny Harlin movies out, Cutthroat Island and Die Hard 2 are out but not this? Come on people, and when you do release it make it a keepcase, not those flimsy cases that Warner Brothers uses. I'm getting sidetracked. This movie is a great enjoyment, action, laughs, Lauren Holly to look at, and great cameos. Get it... now!

After seeing this movie, I immediately became a fan of Andrew Dice Clay. He's hilarious. Aside from that, this movie is pretty fun to watch. Great entertainment. You need this one in your collection.

Ridiculously, Ford Fairlane: Rock 'n' Roll Detective was panned by critics and awarded a slew of "Razzies" - for worst film, worst script, worst actor and so on - on its release in 1990. This says a great deal more about the "academy" who voted on the Razzies than it does about this movie, which is, quite simply, a beauty. It's not PC, sure; but it's so un-PC as to be completely harmless.

It is also well edited, well paced, well scripted (few movies are as quoteable), Clay is terrific as the lead, there's real chemistry between Clay and girl friday Lauren Holly, and any film with Al Bundy in it gets an extra star. And did I mention it was funny?

Boy is it funny.

Right up there with So I Married an Axe Murderer and Airplane, in this reviewer's humble opinion.

Olly Buxton

This is one of the funnier movies ever made. I must admit I enjoyed it more when I originally saw it years ago, but it's still one of my all-time favorites. Dice plays it for all it's worth - he problably doesn't even have to act much, if you know what I mean. Full of foul language, sexual references, and questionable material in all kinds of ways, but still.... funny :-)

So ship off the kids to grandma's, pop some popcorn, park yourself on the couch with the koala and have some fun.